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Recognizing the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or led by UGA graduates CAES News
Bulldog 100
The University of Georgia Alumni Association released the 2025 Bulldog 100, a list of the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or led by UGA graduates. The program, organized by the Division of Development & Alumni Relations, celebrates 15 years of honoring alumni and their entrepreneurial endeavors. Among this year’s class, businesses are headquartered in a total of eight states, with 87 of the businesses located in Georgia. In total, 142 alumni representing over two dozen industries are being recognized as a part of this year’s list.
In Georgia alone, there are nearly 400,000 individuals employed in some segment of hospitality. With the unique mix of leisure travel in coastal Georgia and convention travel in Atlanta, HFIM students have a wealth of opportunities to choose the area that suits them best. CAES News
Be Our Guest
There are nearly 400,000 individuals employed in some segment of hospitality in Georgia. With the unique mix of leisure travel in coastal Georgia and convention travel in Atlanta, University of Georgia hospitality and food industry management students have a wealth of opportunities to choose the area that suits them best. This versatile experience — with its focus on quality curriculum, meaningful interaction with local and national business, and experiential learning — has already begun graduating the next generation of hospitality leaders.
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Krysta Harden CAES News
D.W. Brooks Lecturer
Krysta Harden, former United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and current president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, will be the speaker for the 2024 D.W. Brooks Lecture and Awards, an annual event hosted by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. From her parents’ farm in Camilla, Georgia, all the way to Capitol Hill, Harden has been a strong advocate for agriculture.
U.S. Capitol CAES News
Sadie Lackey
For Sadie Lackey, graduating college during a global pandemic was never part of the plan. Nor was being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma nearly three years later at age 25. Lackey’s cancer diagnosis meant shifting her goals into strategic career decisions based on her health — all while maintaining her passion for agricultural policy. “I really love ag policy, and I love that I’m surrounded by it and get to nerd out and learn every day, but it’s also important to look at your career holistically,” Lackey said.
40 Under 40 CAES News
40 Under 40
The University of Georgia has unveiled the 40 Under 40 Class of 2024, a group of young alumni that includes a deputy national intelligence officer, a senior entertainment writer for Variety, an AI innovator at Microsoft, and more. The 40 Under 40 program celebrates the personal, professional and philanthropic achievements of successful UGA graduates under the age of 40. The latest cohort of young alumni leading the pack includes College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences graduates Chris Chammoun and Tiffany Woods.
Southern Belle Farm owner Jake Carter (BBA ’03) transformed the fifth-generation family dairy and cattle farm into a tourist destination CAES News
Greener Pastures
You don’t expect it to be here. Not after passing subdivision after subdivision with names culled from the merging of random adjectives and natural objects: Longleaf, Brightwood, Hickory Hills. But travel far enough down Turner Church Road — a smidge north of the burgeoning Georgia town of McDonough — and the tree-lined spiderweb roads of housing developments open to vast farmland adorned with berry crops and little, red-roofed structures.
uga commencement CAES News
CAES Convocation
As another academic year draws to a close, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is gearing up for its Athens campus convocation ceremony, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at The Classic Center in Athens. “Each year, it’s an honor to celebrate the success of our CAES graduates,” said CAES Dean and Director Nick T. Place. “It’s amazing what these students accomplish during their time with us, and I’m always excited to commemorate this next step in their lives as they continue on to either further studies or the start of their careers.”
2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate    who went on to earn a master’s degree in 1982 and education specialist degree in 1984 from UGA’s College of Education. CAES News
2024 Hall of Fame Inductees
An innovator in peanut breeding whose research revitalized an industry and an ardent champion of agricultural education were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the 68th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Awards in Athens. The 2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate.
UGA College of Engineering students Garrett Stigall and Guy Gober won the 2024 FABricate entrepreneurial contest with their company, Pool Protection Technologies, and its high-quality Sound Amplifying Machine (SAM) that treats algae growth in pools. Photo by Sean Montgomery. CAES News
2024 FABricate Contest
Another successful cycle of the University of Georgia’s FABricate Entrepreneurial Initiative wrapped up Tuesday night at the Delta Innovation Hub, with a sustainable pool-maintenance solution winning the $10,000 grand prize. Pool Protection Technologies, founded by UGA College of Engineering students Garrett Stigall and Guy Gober, highlighted its high-quality sound amplifying machine (SAM) that treats algae growth in pools.